The present invention relates generally to valves and more particularly relates to valve arrangements for use in testing and draining fire suppression water sprinkler systems.
In a typical fire suppression water sprinkler system as installed in many buildings, an array of individual fire sprinklers is supplied with water through a main conduit and various branch conduits. The individual fire sprinklers are generally provided with a member that melts when the ambient temperature reaches a predetermined level indicative of a fire. The melting of the member opens a sprinkler to spray water in order to suppress the fire. The individual fire sprinklers are provided with meltable members so that the spray of water will hopefully be limited to the region of the building where the fire is present. In this way, the extent of water damage may be minimized.
After a fire, and especially during maintenance and renovation, it may become necessary to replace one or more of the individual water sprinklers. At such times it is desirable to be able to drain the system of water conduits, so that the removal of one or more of the individual water sprinklers (after the supply of water to the main conduit has been turned off and after the system has been drained) will not result in a flow of water through the fitting for the water sprinkler. Accordingly, it is conventional in the art to provide a valve which when opened will drain the water conduits of the system.
Such fire suppression systems also oftentimes have a switch or sensor that detects the flow of water in the conduits to indicate that even only one of the individual water sprinklers has opened. Since the flow of water in the conduits generally means that a fire is present in the building, the switch or sensor typically triggers a fire alarm or sends an appropriate signal directly to a fire department. Therefore, many fire codes require, and it is otherwise desirable, that the switch or sensor which detects the flow of water in the conduits be periodically tested. Accordingly, it has also become conventional in the art to provide a valve which enables the system to be tested by permitting a flow of water corresponding to the flow through only one individual water sprinkler that has been opened.
In addition, it is desirable (and sometimes required by the applicable fire code) to be able to visually observe the flow of water from the testing valve. Since the testing valve (and oftentimes the drainage valve) is frequently connected directly to a drain pipe, it is conventional to provide a sight glass downstream of the testing valve (and sometimes the drainage valve). It is, of course, possible to alternatively place a sight glass upstream of the testing valve. Also, since it is typically desirable to determine the pressure of the water upstream of the testing valve, prior to and during a test operation, it is conventional to provide a fitting or port to receive a pressure gauge upstream of the testing valve.
Initially, it was common in the art to provide separate drainage valves and testing valves in the fire suppression system and this resulted in significant time and expense during installation due to the required amount of hardware and the necessary supportive plumbing. Then, recently, it became known to incorporate the testing valve and the drainage valve into a single device along with a sight glass and a pressure port. One such device was provided by the Fire Protection Division of Victaulic in Easton, Pa. under the designation "Testmaster". Such a device remained relatively expensive and cumbersome, however, since the device simply combined the two separate valves into a single housing.
Still more recently, it became known to incorporate into one housing a single valve having both drainage and testing capabilities as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,078 to Johnson. The device disclosed in the Johnson patent is configured for use as a section of plumbing in alignment with the pipe sections on either side of the device. The Johnson device is relatively inefficient, however, since the components and specifically, the ball valve, are configured to retain excess weight and comprise an inefficient geometry. The ball valve according to the Johnson patent is overly large and is relatively heavy due to its essentially solid configuration which also adds to the expense of producing the valve.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve and arrangement for a fire suppression water sprinkler system which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement for testing and draining a fire suppression water sprinkler system which is simple to install and use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement for testing and draining a fire suppression water sprinkler system which is relatively inexpensive.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a valve which permits a fire suppression water sprinkler system to be tested and drained.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a valve which provides two different flow rates for a supply of fluid through the valve.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an arrangement which permits an easy observation of the flow of water through the valve.
These and other objects are accomplished by a valve and an arrangement for testing and draining a fire suppression system according to the present invention.
The arrangement according to the present invention comprises a conduit for supplying water to a plurality of sprinklers with a sensor provided for sensing the flow of water in the conduit. A valve is provided downstream of the sensor in communication with the conduit.
The valve has a housing which defines an interior chamber with an inlet and an outlet. A thinly walled valve member provided within the housing has first, second and third apertures arranged about an outer periphery of the member that allow varying amounts of fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet of the interior chamber.
In additional embodiments, a valve member may be provided that has only two apertures or only one aperture for allowing varying amounts of fluid flow. The valve member preferably may be in the shape of a sphere, a cylinder or a truncated cone. The valve member is selectively positionable within the interior chamber in either of three positions. The first position prevents fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet. The second position allows a restricted fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet. The third position allows an unrestricted fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet. A surface of the valve member is selectively sealingly received by a seat member disposed adjacent the outlet. Means are provided for selectively moving the valve member amongst the first, second and third positions.
Additionally, a sight glass housing may be provided, either as a unitary portion of the valve housing or as a separate element, which presents two sight glasses at a substantially 90 degree angle to one another so as to simplify the task of determining whether water is flowing past the sight glass housing. For example, by providing two sight glasses, light is permitted to enter one of the glasses at an angle to the line of vision through the other sight glass so as to illuminate the interior of the sight glass housing.